November 09, 2002

Seems to be a showdown between Hamas and Fatah to resolve conflicts between them. But Hizbollah?

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction and exiled leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas meet in Cairo today to try to end tensions and discuss halting attacks in Israel, officials said.

The meeting will be the first between the exiled leadership of Hamas and Fatah since 1995 and coincides with a rise in tension between the rivals after the killing of a Palestinian Authority police commander by a Hamas militant.

Fatah officials said yesterday the Cairo meeting followed mediation by European states and Egypt, who want Hamas to agree to end bombings and gun ambushes, viewed by many Palestinians as harmful to the cause for statehood. Hamas officials said they expect the talks to ease tensions with Fatah and to reach an understanding on how to strengthen a two-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
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